Inhibition of pain associated with dentin exposure is a clinical challenge. Examples of the cause of dentin exposure include gingival recession, wedge-shaped defect, abutment tooth preparation, and cavity formation. Although the mechanism of occurrence of pain has not been fully defined yet, there has been known the hydrodynamic theory stating that external sensation causes the movement of the internal fluid in dentinal tubules, thereby stimulating pulp nerves. For inhibition of pain, it is considered effective to control the movement of the internal fluid in dentinal tubules by sealing the dentinal tubules.
An example of means for sealing dentinal tubules is a dentinal tubule sealing material described in Patent Literature 1, which material contains poorly-soluble calcium phosphate particles and a phosphorus-free calcium compound. According to this literature, it has been confirmed that when the sealing material obtained as a paste is rubbed on dentin with a microbrush for 30 seconds, dentinal tubules can be sealed with the sealing material, and a high dentin penetration inhibition ratio can be achieved. However, the dentinal tubule sealing material described in Patent Literature 1 has room for improvement in terms of its storage stability and the durability of the resulting sealing product.
Patent Literature 2 describes a dentin mineralizing agent including tetracalcium phosphate particles, an alkali metal phosphate, and acid calcium phosphate particles, and proposes a method including applying the agent obtained as a paste to dentin surface. This method enables sealing of a large proportion of dentinal tubules, and can therefore be expected to effectively inhibit pain. However, the dentin mineralizing agent described in Patent Literature 2 has room for improvement in terms of its storage stability and the durability of the resulting sealing product.